Aretex buys into renewable IPP Building Energy

September 13 (Renewables Now) - Private equity firm Aretex Capital Partners has made an investment of an undisclosed amount in renewable power producer Building Energy 1 Holdings Plc.

More specifically, Aretex’s inaugural fund has bought the interest in the independent power producer (IPP) held by Hong Kong-based alternative investment firm ZZ Capital International Ltd (HKG:8295), or ZZCI. This is the private equity company’s third investment since its inception earlier this year, it said.

ZZ Capital made its first investment in Building Energy in July 2017 by purchasing a convertible bond and equity interests in the company, which was then redomiciled from Italy to the UK in order “to benefit from the depth of London’s capital markets”. The transaction represented a co-investment with Zhongzhi Capital for a total amount of EUR 70 million (USD 81m). Existing shareholders Synergo and Three Hills Capital Partners also took part in the transaction.

Building Energy has more than 350 MW of wind, solar, biomass and hydropower plants in operation and under construction. The company expects to conclude the development phase for more than 1.5 GW of additional projects by the end of next year, according to the announcement.